-Presence -Clarity -Quality

-Need to be matched with a sub to really enjoy them.

These are great mains for any home theatre. They beat anything I have heard in the price range. When matched with a good sub and driven by a good amp they really come alive.

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Yamaha NS tower Paradigm Monitor 3

High quality sound for the money.

They are a tad big for a home theater system.

Put my system together in March. Knew a Paradigm dealer, so I snagged 3 pair of Monitor 5 v3's, sheilded, for $359 a pair, although for the quality, I would still have bought them at the 550 list price. System: Yamaha RX-V1300 amp 6 Paradigm 5 v3 speakers (mounted on walls with B-Tech BT77s) Paradigm Servo 15 sub Paradigm X-30 Crossover Panasonic RP62 DVD w/ digital audio. Unbelievable sound quality. I listen to everything from rock to rap to classical. Had a picnic this summer, opened up the windows and blasted em. You could hear the music, crystal clear, far from the house. Movies are just as incredible. (of course, the sub helps alot). I have listened to many people's home theater systems, and so far nothing compares. Even with the sub off, these speakers deliver a suprising amount of bass, although nowhere near enough for my spoiled tastes.

great mids and highs...great mid-bass

need a sub for that really low vibrateyeranus sound

these speakers are sick! best speakers i have heard for half a buck. i like them better than the b&w 602's. my friend bought them and we listended to them for about 8 hours so far. they aren't even properly broken in yet! we listened to things like Eric Dolphy, Spiritualized, Alice Coltrane, My Bloody Valentine, Sleep, The Flaming Lips, Beck, Air....they all sound amazing on these things. they have phat bass for a non floorstanding speaker. if 600 is you limit....i highly recommend these little guys.

Similar Products Used:

b&w 602's, polk rt10's

Clear, crisp and decent bass.

Break in time and faux wood cabinet.

This review is for v3. These speakers are great. Crystal clear with a surprising amount of bass for the size. For this price range, I think it's really tough to beat these. Spreakers definitely need a bit of break in time, but it's worth it.

price! (paid 500 instead of 750 and they were brand new) sound! incredible sound for the price, and even up against more expensive pairs bass ... much better than anticipated oh and the monitor 5 v3s are biwirable.

nothing really, would like more bass but there's only so much you can ask for.

This review is acutally for the newer v3's. I got them at a great price as the store was having a clearance sale on their v2's (price paid was $500 canadian plus tax). I got the v3's for the same price plus another 15% discount. These speakers are amazing! Very accurate from the highend, through midrange and even give a great bass response (given their size of course). I've got them hooked up to a cheapo technics 2 channel amp (100W / channel) for now. What amazed me even more is how much richer they sounded once they were broken in (took about a month or so). The bass really filled out once they broke in. I've got my jvc s500 dvd player hooked up to my amp and do alot of movie watching as well as listen to alot of music. movies come through great. Of course you dont' get that rumble that you get with a nice sub but dialogue is very clear and natural sounding, and effects come through just fine. These speakers excel at music reproduction with my setup. I've never heard Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue album sound so sweet. Oscar Peterson's piano sounds so real he could be playing in my living room. Techno/house/hiphop sounds awesome too, though the speakers dont' give that kick that you get with bigger woofers. however the bass is very accurate and much better than I thought it would be. Before I got these, I was considering getting one of those 'home theatre in a box' deals. After listening to my paradigms, I went into the sony store and was listening at one of their small 5.1 systems they had on sale for around $700. Wow did it sound flat! I'm so glad I decided to get these monitor 5s

Bass and midrange. Dollar value of produst is high.

It's a big bookshelf speaker that really needs to be stand mounted

I got the upgrade bug and decided to ditch my Energy Take 5 system for a all Paradigm set-up. The Energy was great for movies but was lacking on the music side. I first bought mini-monitors which are great in there own right and decided to go bigger in the fronts and use the mini's for surrounds. The 5 v2 is a terrific speaker, excellent bass and midrange. I have Maggies for my dedicated two channel system and while they can't touch the smoothness or detail of them they come pretty close. On 5.1 surround this set-up sounds very powerful and full. I'm running them off a Denon 70 watt per channel 5.1 receiver which is a good match but they could probably stand some more watts. I would recommend this speaker to anybody looking for good quality at a fair price. I am very impressed with the Pardigm line and I know I will enjoy these for years to come.

Similar Products Used:

Energy take 5, Magnepan MMG's

Great bass, good highs and precise in their punches.

Speaker cabinets are not real wood, but you don't have to pay for that either. Doesn't really affect the sound.

They're awesome. I like metal, and everyone told me to Klipsch. I like movies too, and the Klipsch just didnt' cut it. When I've got "For Whome the Bell Tolls" just cranked, it sounds awesome! I couldn't recommend them more.

nice base. Clear. Clear. Clear. Even High priced Audio snobs have respect for Paradigm (in private). They are very cost effective. They are a good all around speaker. If you like rap get JBL or Cerwin V. But if you like Music and movies Get these.

Break in is a must but worth it. The minis are better value but the 5s are a bit warmer.

I have these matched up with the Mini monitors as rear (my review is the same for both) Clear as a bell for the price. My girl friend could not beleive the clearness of enya on my system. But then she has a sony speaker system. She had never heard such detail. I have heard better but not for the money. I would have gotten them for twice the price... No kidding. Get these and pair them up a bigger pair of monitors (i have 5s to go with the minis). I matched them up against the most expensive Bose system and they just destroyed Bose. Big surprise. The salesman flipped back and forth between the two and wow. It proved two things: 1. Bose has the best marketing in the industry 2. Bose just flat out sucks...even at half the price. my system Denon 3802 Klipch sub 12 inch JVC VCR JVC DVD/CD Rm-sxvfa95j JVC tape deck (a older one...no need to upgrade this) I looked at Energy, Klipsch, Infinity, JBL, Boston A, Polk, and Def Tech. If I had more money i would have considerred some more expensive brands. Maybe some day. But Paradigm is really nice :)

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch, Boston A, Cerwin V, Polk,

Great bang for the buck! The usual of what was said below.

Can sound a little harsh at high volume. Also I expected just a little more bass as there are two woofers, but overall no complaints here!

I really like these speakers, even right out of the box. You do have to break them in though, to get them to sound their best. I think I''m going to upgrade to the Studio series (Studio/20 or Studio/40) in the Reference line, however, as when I heard them, I was even more impressed. Also, I want biwiring capability because I''m going to eventually get a decent amp as well. The local dealer in town offers a 1 year trade up policy and I am definitely going to take advantage of it! My system consists of the following (which will hopefully be upgraded shortly as well) Marantz SR7000 Monitor 5 (LR) JBL surrounds CC170 Center Polk PSW650 Sub

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM602, some crappy Infinity bookshelf

Their ability to reproduce the recording the way that was intended. Note: if the recording is poor, you will hear it.

People will wonder why you are smiling while sitting in front of your speakers.

Buy them . . . you won''t be able to get the grin off your face.